President George W. Bush met on Saturday with top US military commanders to discuss the Iraq war and said he would "make every necessary change" in tactics to try to control spiralling violence there.
Despite growing election-year pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers for an overhaul of his Iraq strategy, Bush insisted he would not abandon his goal of building a self-sustaining Iraq government.
The president, however, acknowledged in his weekly radio address that the violence there has risen sharply. In October alone, at least 73 US troops have been killed, a pace that - if it continues - could make it one of the deadliest months for US forces since the war began in 2003.
Bush said the military always reviews the way it conducts the war and "we will continue to be flexible, and make every necessary change to prevail in this struggle."
But he added, "Our goal in Iraq is clear and unchanging: Our goal is victory. What is changing are the tactics we use to achieve that goal." Bush held a videoconference involving Vice President Dick Cheney, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, top White House officials and US military officials in Iraq.
General John Abizaid, who oversees the Iraq war as head of the US Central Command, is in Washington and was a key presenter at the videoconference.
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